4 Ways To Add More Movement To Your Routine
Moving is key to a healthy lifestyle. It’s not just about meeting physical activity recommendations. Moving implies fighting against sedentary lifestyle. Adding more movement to your daily routine will bring you great benefits.
There are people who place great emphasis on their formal training routines. However, they spend many hours sitting at their desks or at their workstations. Exercise is certainly very healthy, but those benefits don’t outweigh sitting for long hours.
Why should you add more movement to your routine?
Actively moving is a lot like exercising – it involves being active throughout the day. In this sense, there are side effects implicit in spending many hours in a row sitting, both on a cardiovascular and cerebral level.
A 2019 study found that 2 decades of sedentary lifestyle is associated with a 2 times higher risk of premature death compared to physical activity. The researchers emphasize that their findings imply that remaining physically active is necessary to obtain maximum health benefits.
Previously, a 2015 meta-analysis study had already found that prolonged sitting increases the risk of illness and premature death, regardless of exercise.
Also, sitting for a long time is not good for the brain either. Along these lines, a 2018 study found that sedentary behavior is related to weight loss in brain regions that are critical for memory.
Ideas to add more movement to your routine
With the above in mind, the keys to adding more movement to the daily routine should not be based on formal physical activity. Instead, we must seek strategies that include getting up from a chair or couch.
1. Walk as much as you can
A good way to add more movement to your daily routine is to walk whenever possible. Leaving the car or getting off public transportation several blocks from work can be effective measures. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is another option.
Another way to walk a little more is not to have the television remote at hand. In this way, every time you want to raise or lower the volume or change the channel, you will have to get up.
Another trick that can be very useful to walk more is on your mobile. Whenever you consult it for leisure reasons, such as looking at WhatsApp or Telegram messages , do it standing up moving down the hall or around the room.
2. Wear a smart bracelet with a sitting time limit notice
Many smart bracelets have a system that alerts you whenever you are sitting for a long time. If your smart bracelet has that option, turn it on. If not, use a mobile alarm.
You don’t have to take a long break if you can’t (although it’s not a bad idea either). Just get up, take a few laps around the room, table or chair. You can also do some squats and move your arms to activate your back.
3. Meetings and stand-up talks
Both at work and at home, when you talk to someone, do it standing up. It can be a work meeting, a consultation with a colleague, a conversation with someone at home, or even a phone chat. If you don’t need to be seated for any reason, get up and talk as you walk.
4. Move around while watching TV
Another way to stay active is by doing something while watching TV. You can take advantage to fold or iron the clothes.
You can also watch it while walking on a treadmill or pedaling an exercise bike. There are small devices to pedal seated or to take climbing steps that you can do with or without support.
Add movement to the reward routine
Moving is important for physical and mental health and for good intellectual performance. Adding a little movement not only doesn’t take up too much time, it pays off, as it supports organic functions.
This helps us to be more productive, more creative, and more effective. Being active throughout the day makes all your training efforts pay off.
